Space Center Houston, the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center, will reopen with exclusive member-only Welcome Back Days June 28-30 and to the public beginning July 1.
Following state, local and CDC guidelines, Space Center Houston will safely welcome back guests with new exhibits, spacious outdoor experiences and additional health and safety measures at the forefront of its daily operations.
There will be new protocols in place including social distancing practices, special hours for vulnerable populations, guests and employees will be asked to wear face coverings, self-scan turnstiles, sanitizing stations, plexiglass shields at ticket counters; and a one-directional experience through the galleries. Guests will book a timed admission ticket for entry to the museum, and daily capacity will be limited. The timed admission tickets on-sale date will be announced, along with a thorough visitor guide, on the Space Center Houston website in the coming weeks.
When the center reopens, guests will be among the first to experience the newest permanent exhibit, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (opened in March), displayed outside the center. Guests can walk around and underneath the first-stage booster spanning more than 156 feet long. It is the only Falcon 9 on public display outside of SpaceX’s headquarters and is the same type of rocket that will launch NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 27 for the Demo-2 mission, marking the first time since 2011 that astronauts have launched from American soil. Guests can also take a tour of the spacious Independence Plaza exhibit, the only place you can walk inside a shuttle replica mounted on top of the historic shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905.
Following current state guidelines, Space Center Houston’s theaters will be temporarily closed, however, the center is adding new live shows in open spaces to bring science and space to life for people of all ages.
The center plans to reopen with one of its most popular experiences, the NASA Tram Tour, which will take guests to the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, where astronauts train for current missions and Rocket Park, where an actual Apollo Saturn V rocket is on display. In addition to a timed admission ticket, guests will reserve a free virtual boarding pass to book a time to experience the NASA Tram Tour.
All Space Center Houston experiences are subject to change while the center continues to monitor state and local health and safety guidelines for reopening.
